BATON ROUGE - In his illustrious 19-year NBA career, former LSU center Shaquille O'Neal won four NBA championships and three All-Star MVP awards. But O'Neal said nothing is comparable to Thursday afternoon, when LSU unveiled a towering, 900-pound bronze statue of O'Neal in a dunking pose in front of the Tigers' new basketball practice facility.

The unveiling was part of a ceremony attended by several of O'Neal family members, former teammates and coaches that included former LSU coach Dale Brown. Former LSU and Hornets players Marcus Thornton and Brandon Bass also attended.

"There are a lot of great players that came to this university that were greater than me Ñ Pistol Pete Maravich, Bob Petit, Stanley Roberts Ñ and guys like that," O'Neal said. "I'm just honored they chose me. I had no idea that it was that big."

O'Neal played three seasons at LSU before becoming the No. 1 overall pick by the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA draft. He finished as LSU's fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,941 points and ranks second overall in rebounding with 1,217.

O'Neal said his only regret in college was not winning a national championship. He is the only LSU player to be selected national college player of the year, win the NBA's MVP award (in 2000) and earn a gold medal in the Olympics. Team USA won the gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. O'Neal said he first heard through LSU Coach Trent Johnson about the school's plan to honor him with a statue.

"He told me that he wanted to do it,'' O'Neal said. "He sent me emails, and he was really serious. But I didn't realize it was going to be that big.''

O'Neal announced his retirement last June after an injury-filled season with the Boston Celtics.

O'Neal won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-02 and another with the Miami Heat in 2006. The Lakers said they plan to retire his No. 34 jersey.

O'Neal finished with career averages of 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds.

"Shaq is truly an icon, and he's our icon,'' LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva said. "This statue will inspire the future of LSU basketball players to reach for the stars.''

O'Neal said he is humbled by the statue and said LSU remains a special place that he still calls home.

"I had so much fun here,'' O'Neal said. "I always try to make one football game a year, and I'll be there Saturday night.''

Johnson said watching O'Neal's retirement ceremony this summer was emotional, but he felt honored to be part of Thursday's statue unveiling.

"In my lifetime, I pray that we have an opportunity to witness another superstar that's as athletic and skilled as he is and the kind of person he is,'' Johnson said. "This guy, how he's been so open to everybody, regardless of where he's been, is amazing.''

The unveiling ceremony had been in the planning stages for several months, according to LSU officials. The statue was paid for with private funds, estimated at $70,000.

"I want to say thank you to the entire community for embracing my son and caring for him during the years he spent at LSU,'' said Lucille, O'Neal's mother. "He has a lot of fond memories here, and I have memories also.''